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Home , Beaulieu Heights, Beddington, Brixton, Brockwell Park, Carshalton, Chessington

17. South Clays & Gravels

Key plan

Description The Clays and Gravels is an extensive Natural Landscape Area that incorporates parts of 9 boroughs - Kingston, Sutton, , , , , , & . It extends south and west from towards and . It is bordered by two river systems, the Wandle (NLA 16) and the Ravensbourne (NLA 8) to the east and west, and by the Lower Dip Slope (NLA 21) to the south.

The whole area is underlain by London Clay, but in places (Crystal Palace and ) the Clay is capped by the younger, more resistant strata of the Member to form ridges. At Crystal Palace the ridge is particularly prominent and extends north–south from Forest Hill to , with superb views across to the and the City and, to the south, to Croydon and the North

17. South London Clays & Gravels Downs. To the south of this ridge, the older rocks of the Harwich Formation (pebbly beds) and the gravelly sands and clays of the Lambeth Group crop out in the and areas. This out crop does not correspond to an obvious variation in landform, but the sandy soils associated with the Lambeth Group tend to support heathland and this is also suggested by some local place names. The oldest rocks are in the Deptford area to the north, where

an exposure of the Thanet Sand Formation and small inliers of 100046223 2009 RESERVED ALL RIGHTS NATURAL CROWN COPYRIGHT. © OS BASE MAP Nodular Chalk Formation are surrounded by sands/gravels from the 17. South London Clays & Gravels Lambeth Group. Again there is no significant change in landform, but the extensive gravel deposits here, and also in the / areas to the west, moved downslope by hill wash and solifluction processes, depositing Head alongside the flooded river corridors of the Thames and the Wandle, generally as a result of melting permafrost.

98 London’s Natural Signatures: The London Regional Landscape Framework / April 2010 Alan Baxter REPRODUCED FROM THE BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAP DATA AT THE ORIGINAL SCALE OF 1:50,000. AT SURVEY DATA MAP THE BRITISH GEOLOGICAL REPRODUCED FROM RESERVED. © NERC. ALL RIGHTS SURVEY. LICENSE 2006/072J BRITISH GEOLOGICAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: ENGLISH HERITAGE DATA ENGLISH HERITAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: © OS BASE MAP CROWN COPYRIGHT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NATURAL ENGLAND 100046223 2009 RESERVED ALL RIGHTS NATURAL CROWN COPYRIGHT. © OS BASE MAP DATA ENVIRONMENT AGENCY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Geology Rivers and Topography Historic Development

The settlement pattern is varied, ranging from open countryside and farmland in the south west to dense residential, industrial and commercial developments to the north and east. The two oldest key settlement cores are at Croydon and South Clapham. Elsewhere most built development dates from the Victorian period and the boom in residential development which followed the growth of the railways, although south of Rye, extending to Streatham Vale, the housing stock is predominantly interwar suburbia. There are high 17. South London Clays & Gravels rise tower buildings in areas that suffered particularly heavy bomb damage in the Second World War and a particularly dense complex of sewage works and heavy industry at .

Whilst the Malden Ruston area to the south west is surrounded by open countryside and farmland, the majority of the landscape type is densely developed, and the open space matrix consists of a fragmented network of historic commons, public parks, playing fields and golf courses maintained as amenity grassland. There are also fragmented small patches of native woodland and hedgerows, typically along railway sidings and in some parks.

Alan Baxter London’s Natural Signatures: The London Regional Landscape Framework / April 2010 99 Natural Signature and natural landscape features

Natural Stignature: South London Clays and Gravels – Small hedged meadows and large heathy commons set against a backdrop of extensive Clapham Brockwell woodlands on higher land. Common Park Wandsworth The was an exceptionally dense forest, recorded Common Railway in the , which once extended from /Elmers Embankments End northwards towards what is now Upper Norwood, Forest Hill Tooting & Common and Hatcham/Deptford. By the 17th century significant parts of it Woods were , and little now remains, but fragments of ancient woodland on higher land provide core areas of valuable habitat which could be a priority for future woodland planting. The network of woodlands, hedgerows, small meadows and field ponds at Court Farm Fields indicates the likely scale and character of farmland surrounding the woodlands and the floodplain meadows and woodlands in the Hogsmill Valley Nature Reserve suggests how the Country Park landscape pattern would have varied along river valleys. Common

This is obviously a snapshot in time, but it suggests the character Valley of the rural landscape during the period before urbanisation and it Cemetery provides a set of references to inform the Natural Signature of this Tolworth Court Farm extensive area. Fields & Medieval Examples of natural landscape features within the South London Clays Moated and Gravels Natural Landscape Area are: Manor

• Dulwich and Sydenham Hill Woods – The largest remnant of the historic Great North Wood and one of the closest ancient woodland The to . Mostly sessile oak-hornbeam woodland, with a Meadowlands wide variety of other tree and shrub species, including numerous Rushett

17. South London Clays & Gravels exotics planted when the wood included parts of large gardens. The Common flora includes numerous indicators of long-established woodland; wood anemone, lily-of-the-valley and hairy wood-rush. Two

ponds contain aquatic vegetation and support amphibians and ENGLAND 100046223 2009 RESERVED ALL RIGHTS NATURAL CROWN COPYRIGHT. © OS BASE MAP GIGL DATA ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: dragonflies. Natural Habitats & Landscape Key Features

100 London’s Natural Signatures: The London Regional Landscape Framework / April 2010 Alan Baxter • Hogsmill Valley – This Local Nature Reserve encompasses the • Morden Cemetery – This cemetery contains areas of flower-rich entire Hogsmill river corridor from rail station south neutral grassland, very rare in London and once supporting the only to Malden Lane, comprising a varied mosaic of relict floodplain colony of green-winged orchid in London. habitats. The majority of the valley is open species-rich grassland, but there are also small pockets of willow woodland over sedge • Rushett Common – This site includes two tracts of woodland beds, which support one of London’s few populations of slender alongside the A243 from south to London’s tufted-sedge. The Hogsmill, a chalk stream, has a diverse aquatic boundary with . The woodland consists mostly of flora here including horned pondweed and a well established fish pedunculate and sessile oaks, with yellow archangel and woodruff community. The specially protected water vole is also present. in the ground flora. West of the road, the site also includes areas of scrub and grassland, with common gorse and heath bedstraw. • Tolworth Court Farm Fields and Medieval Moated Manor – A large area of farmland, with a field system of pastures, hedgerows • – A large common consisting mainly of and woodland. The site also includes the remains of a medieval acid grassland and secondary woodland, with some interesting moated , where there are important wetland habitats. wetlands and several small but important areas of heathland. The This large area of relict farmland comprises a field system of both heath communities are degraded but notable for the abundance grazed and ungrazed pastures, hedgerows and small blocks of of the London rarity dwarf gorse, marking them as intermediate secondary woodland. There are varied examples of grassland in composition between the heathlands of East Anglia and central management, with some fields retaining species indicative of old southern England. hay meadows and damper fields supporting dense rush beds. The • Balham Railway Embankments – The Wandsworth area has a hedge network is very old, with several veteran oak pollards present. particularly complex criss-crossing network of railways, partly due to Several small areas of woodland have developed from these the location of . This adds up to a substantial area hedgerows, and consist predominantly of oak and elm. The ancient of natural habitat and provides important wildlife corridors linking trackway of Cox Lane traverses the site, adding further historical the various commons and major wildlife sites together. Much of the interest. The remains of the moat form a large overgrown pond, habitat is a mix of native and non-native broadleaved woodland overhung by willows and other wetland plants. and roughland, with frequent patches of regenerating elm scrub • The Meadowlands – A small area of species-rich chalk grassland and bracken. The embankments either side of are preserved within a housing estate. The turf supports an covered in dense scrub, mostly of bramble with stands of tall herbs extraordinary diversity of plants, including bee and pyramidal and coppiced sycamore. orchid. 17. South London Clays & Gravels

Alan Baxter London’s Natural Signatures: The London Regional Landscape Framework / April 2010 101 • Tooting Common – A large open space with three extensive areas Underlining the natural signature of the of woodland ( Hill, Streatham Hill and Tooting Graveney South London Clays and Gravels Woods) and relict acid grassland. The woodland is dominated by oak, with a range of other trees including hornbeam and several Key influences fine veteran oaks. The acid grasslands are dominated by common • Fragments of ancient woodland, particularly on elevated land bent and red fescue, with pockets of gorse and bramble scrub. There characterised by sessile oak in remnants of the Great North Wood. . are also several wetland habitats including a lake, a reedbed and a seasonal pond. • More extensive secondary native woodlands. • Networks of dense hedgerows with hedgerow trees enclosing small • – A large and valuable open space serving , meadows and pastures. , and beyond. It combines a variety of formal recreational facilities with large areas of open parkland, woodland • Wildflower meadows with orchids. and ponds. • Managed hay meadows.

The wetland features include a series of small ponds linked by a • Ponds with marginal vegetation and wet grasslands with rush beds tributary of the on the western boundary of the park. On on floodplains. the banks of the stream are yellow iris, fool’s water-cress, pendulous • Heathy commons with scrub, gorse and acid grassland. sedge, great willowherb and hemlock water-dropwort. In the • Green lanes. grassland around the stream grow cuckooflower and patches of sweet vernal-grass. The main habitat in the park is close-mown grassland, but the area of rough or meadow grassland has been Design clues gradually extended over time. There are fine examples of native Ideas for place making and shaping future design decisions - how trees in the park including two mature oaks in the south-east, which the Natural Signatures for each natural landscape area might be seem to belong to an old field boundary. expressed within the wider public realm, through new development and landscape management projects. • – A small fragment of ancient oak woodland, surrounded by secondary woodland of oak, sycamore, lime and • Belts of native woodland on higher land as a backdrop to local ash, with a good variety of other trees and shrubs. Ground flora views. in the ancient part includes wood anemone, bluebell and yellow • Street trees planted close together, particularly on upper slopes. pimpernel. Fungi are particularly well recorded, with over 200 species noted. • Copses and areas of woodland at gateways and as focal points within new developments. • South Norwood Country Park – This site, a former sewage farm, • Hedgerows with groups of hedgerow trees, as boundaries within 17. South London Clays & Gravels has been developed as a country park by the London Borough of built areas and extending out into adjacent greenspaces. Croydon. It contains a large area of wet grassland, bramble scrub and hedges. A large lake has been created, and two tributaries of the • Small meadows and varied grasslands – managed under different also cross the site. mowing regimes. • Hedged green lanes and pathways bordered on one side by a hedge with hedgerow trees. • Strings of small ponds (rather than large, simple flood attenuation basins) which form a focus for intimate, small-scale damp meadows and grasslands.

102 London’s Natural Signatures: The London Regional Landscape Framework / April 2010 Alan Baxter South London Clays & Gravels – Key environmental assets

Environmental Asset Relevant borough Notes Environmental Asset Relevant borough Notes Dulwich and Sydenham Southwark Last surviving part of the Great North Wood. Wandsworth Cemetery Wandsworth Dominated by neutral grassland with scattered Hill Woods trees.

Hogsmill Valley Local Nature Reserve encompasses entire river Brockwell Park Lambeth Predominantly open parkland, but includes areas corridor; majority is species-rich grassland. of wetland linked by a tributary of River Effra.

Hogsmill Valley Sewage Kingston upon Thames Includes active sewage works; several areas of tall Lambeth Grassland and formal gardens at the Rookery. Works and Hogsmill River herb and scrub. Sydenham Hill and West Southwark Woodland dominated by sycamore, but also Tolworth Court Farm Fields Kingston upon Thames Large area of farmland with mosaic of farmland, Dulwich Railsides includes some ash and oak species; structure is and Medieval Moated hedgerows and woodlands. less good further north. Manor Cuttings and Southwark Cuttings support good woodland with shrub The Meadowlands Kingston upon Thames Species-rich grassland maintained within a to layer and areas of roughland. housing estate. Railsides Rushett Common Kingston upon Thames Two roadside tracts of land supporting oak Dulwich Upper Wood Southwark Small fragment of ancient oak woodland woodland. surrounded by secondary woodland of mixed native species. Mitcham Common Croydon, Merton Large common consisting predominantly of acid grassland and secondary woodland; South Norwood Croydon Former sewage farm developed as country park; exceptionally diverse invertebrate fauna. Country Park contains large areas of wet grassland, scrub and hedges; large lake connected to tributaries of Morden Cemetery Merton Flower-rich grassland; supports only colony of River Ravensbourne. green-winged orchid in London. Bromley Victorian pleasure ground; former site of the Balham Railway Wandsworth Links together many patches of habitat, acting as Crystal Palace and its grounds. Good views Embankments a valuable system of corridors. towards London; many species of plant; rats and parakeets also present. Wandsworth Some ponds of conservation interest; area (Wandsworth section) of exotic woodland supports diverse bird Biggin Woods Croydon Small area of deciduous woodland, a remnant of populations. the Great North Wood Wandsworth Mosaic of secondary woodlands and acid Croydon Park containing fragment of ancient woodland, grassland; also areas of neutral grassland. once part of the Great North Wood

Tooting Common Wandsworth Three extensive ares of woodland dominated by Croydon Ancient woodland, formerly a part of the Great

oak species. North Wood 17. South London Clays & Gravels The Lawns Croydon Woodland developed from parkland including some old oak pollards

Alan Baxter London’s Natural Signatures: The London Regional Landscape Framework / April 2010 103